Fearful
by Forbidden Kiss
Summary: A powerful vampire comes to Rome, one more powerful then anyone...even Buffy and there's something Spike isn't saying, something that could mean the death of Buffy.
1. A New Pain

It had been days since Spike had gotten a full night sleep. He kept having weird dreams, dreams of people he killed, and one girl stuck out the most. He'd never had dreams like this before. He could almost taste the blood in his mouth, the same taste as that night he bit her. He was restless and overly tired, Italy was nicer then he remembered, the people friendlier, but he was still unable to enjoy it.

He thought about getting up, he knew Buffy was, he heard her out and about an hour before. Sometimes he still had trouble talking to her, he thought she had the same problems, though neither would ever admit it.

When Spike reached the living room Buffy had a cup of tea in her hand and was standing on the balcony looking out.

"Buffy, what are you doing up?" He asked even though he knew the answer. It was making a good icebreaker he thought.

She turned and saw him then turned back.

"Can't sleep, just having one of those nights." She brushed off.

"You've been having one of those nights a lot lately…since I got here." He informed her.

"How do you know?"

"Because I'm up too. I think we should talk."

"I don't really feel like talking right now."

"I really don't either, just thought I should get that out in the open for future references." He smiled and so did she. "Do you mind if I sit out here with ya, I won't talk to you I promise." He put his hands up surrendering.

"Yes, you can stay out here. I almost have always enjoyed your company."

"Well, I'm gonna mark that as a good thing."

"You should." She reassured him."

Spike sat down in one of the chairs and put his feet up on the railing.

"So what do you think of Italy so far?" Buffy asked.

"Well, it better then-" Something in his brain triggered vision with a migraine.

"_Please, I'm begging you, stop." She cried, the tears had turned the dirt on her face into a mud like substance. A hand slapped her forcefully. _

"_Shut up you stupid git." A new voice harshly spoke._

_She screamed and a vampire grabbed her roughly and bit into her shoulder. Spike, bit her. She let out on more cry as her face paled._

"_Spike-" A female voice said._

"Spike, are you ok?" Buffy asked, bringing him out of it.

"What?" He asked realizing where he was.

"Are you ok? You were talking then you just fell, and there was a little drool."

"Yeah, I'm fine, I think I'm gonna go back to sleep, or do something." He said getting up.

"Are you gonna be ok?" Buffy asked concerned.

"I'll be fine."

"You sure?"

"Buffy, I'll be fine." He said a little harsher.

Spike went back into his room and closed the door sliding down until he sat on the ground where he held his head in his hands and cried.


	2. Nightmares and Terrors

The soul that he now had left scars on Spike, scars that had since faded…all but one, the 21-year-old girl that he tortured and killed while her family watched. The girl he loved.

Before Cecily there was Anna…sweet Anna Court, who Spike – then William- had known as a child growing up. If it was even possible he may have loved her more then Buffy.

They talked about marriage and spending the rest of their lived together, until they were torn apart…

Anna was to be married to another, to a Frenchman who her parents had convinced to wed her and secure her future, something they didn't think William could do. He was a romantic and a poet, although not a very good one. He had earned the nickname "William the Bloody" Because it was so awful.

The Courts didn't oppose William as a man only as a husband.

When Anna got the news it felt as if her heart was carved out. It killed her to tell William. There were tears from both of them. They discussed running away, but William didn't want to leave his mother and she was too ill to travel.

Anna even seriously thought of murder, to kill the Frenchman, but William had advised against it. She kept it to herself but she also thought of the option to committed suicide. The only thing was William would be devastated and then kill him self leaving his mother on her own. There was no way out. The wedding was happening and they couldn't stop it. Then Anna would move to France and never see William again. The wedding was three weeks away and they spent all their time together, Anna had her mother make all the arrangements she would just show up. Her mother felt for her, she truly did, she would rather see her daughter poor and happy, then rich and unhappy, but her father was not a very convincing man. William went to him and begged to marry her, insisted upon it that Anna would never find true happiness with the Frenchman. He was only dismissed.

The things he had done to her, he didn't even remember why he killed her. Was it because he was angry or because he had no soul or no recognition about their love? What ever it was it was eating Spike alive, and he didn't understand why now, after all these years its starting to haunt him, he had his soul for over two years and he thought he remembered everything.

"Spike?" A voice said through the door knocking on it. "Are you awake?" It was Buffy. "I'm gonna go out and patrol now, are you coming out any time soon, like say before I leave?"

He still didn't answer.

"Spike, are in there?" when he still didn't answer she cracked the door and peeked in only to hear a slam on the other side.

"I'm fine, don't come in…I'm…I'm not dressed." He lied.

"It's nothing I haven't seen before Spike, why are you hiding in here?" She went to open the door again and was stopped once more.

"Buffy, please, just go and patrol, I'll be out soon, I'm not feeling very well right now."

Buffy knew that vampires didn't get sick, but she dropped the subject.

"Ok, see you later then?" She asked.

"Yeah, sure." He didn't sound convincing.

_After two knocks on the door Anna Bublé opened it and couldn't believe who was standing in front of her._

"_William, what are you doing here?" She was shocked. It had been two years since she last saw him._

"_I…had to find you Anna, we're not over you and me." He said standing in the doorway. "Is he home?"_

"_No, William, I can't do this-"_

"_Can I come in, just to talk, catch up?"_

_Anna hesitated." Yes, but you must be quite, my parents are asleep as well as Will."_

_He smiled and walked in. "Who's Will."_

_She shut the door and turned to him. "He's my son."_

"_You named him after me?"_

"…_Yes, this way no matter what I'd never forget you." Anna was getting caught up in the moment and memories. "William, you can't stay long Forté will be home soon." She remembered._

"_His names Forté? What a wanker." William smiled._

_Anna thought that William was acting funny. "You know William, it's late why don't you come by tomorrow, when Forté's at work, we'll have tea, and talk about things…everything." Tears were welling him her bright blue eyes._

"_Sorry, love that won't work. Got myself a really nasty problem with the sun now days, makes me burst into flames and such." He wasn't looking at her but knew she was terrified._

_She looked at him and didn't see the man she loved. " Who are you?" She started to back up but hit a wall._

"_The name's Spike. You'll be my dinner tonight." When he turned his face was distorted, and his teeth came to a point._

_Anna let out a howling scream._

Spike awoke on the floor in a sweat. He cried again as the memories came rushing back. He sat up then felt his stomach turn. He grabbed the garbage can and blood poured out.

"What's happening to me?" He asked to no one in particular…no one answered.


	3. Grave Trauma

Buffy was worried about Spike; the Spike she knew would never pass up patrolling or to spend time with her. He'd only been in Italy three weeks and he still was acting strange. The first week he was real quite but Angel had told her what went down everyone that was lost. The second week he seemed better, talking more and smiling, he even went out with Buffy and joked about the vampires there how they were all different and that you had to fight them in Italian style…they kissed at dinner that night, held hands on the way home, almost shared their first night together in over two years which Spike stopped after taking her dress off then went to his room. The third week was when she noticed he hadn't been sleeping and it made her restless, lying in her bed staring at the wall that separated them and wondered if he was doing the same. Now he was just flat out lying to her, something Spike was just not capable of doing it was then that Buffy knew it was bad.

Buffy was coming up on the cemetery, they all had the same name "Cimitero" which was just cemetery in Italian, this one was Cimitero 33, they had numbers after them which Buffy liked because with out it there was just too many cemeteries she could be in if she was in trouble.

She had patrolled here several times and knew about the great view in the back; all the lights from the city glowed and lit up the sky. Buffy sat on a tombstone and watched over Rome. It looked like it was going to be a quite night, which meant she was going to be bored for the next hour.

"God, what am I even doing here?" She asked herself.

"You're here to die." A female voice with a British accent said from behind her.

Buffy had her stake out and was in her fight stance.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"Your murderer." The woman had long black hair that flowed down her shoulders, and bright blue eyes. She wore a leather corset and leather pants tucked in her knee high boots.

"Wow, well that's new, I mean a vamp never told me that they were going to kill me before, they just went for it, and guess what, not a one has knocked me down yet. Well unless you count that time I drowned and when I jumped off a really unstable building into a giant energy ball." She remembered. "So you got a name? It's always nice to know who I'm killing."

The vamp looked at her in shock. "You don't know who I am?"

"Would I have asked if I did?"

"You could be stalling."

"I don't stall."

"We'll see about that." The vamp jumped over three headstones and landed in front of Buffy.

Buffy was holding her own blocking every punch sent yet the vamp was doing the same. She stopped Buffy's roundhouse and threw her against a tree. Buffy hit her back so hard she heard a crack. Air seemed to hurt as it entered her lungs. But she still got up.

"That all you got, cause I could stand to go a few more rounds."

"It's only the beginning my dear." She was on Buffy with in seconds, Buffy had never seen a vampire move this fast.

The vamp went in for a high kick but was caught. Buffy grabbed her leg and used it to turn her on her stomach, she went for her stake that she dropped but was kicked in the face. She rolled a few times settling on her side. Once again the vamp was on top of her.

"Come on Buffy, you're not even putting up a fight. I thought you were the original Slayer? What happened, sharing your mojo weaken you?" She kicked her in the stomach then grabbed hold of her shirt with one hand and pulled her up. "Bit of a light weight aren't you?"

"I'm stronger then I look." She responded. She karate chopped the vamps arm and she dropped her, but the vamp didn't miss a beat. While Buffy tried to run away the vampire kicked her behind the knee sending Buffy face first in the dirt.

"You know what, I'm thinking you aren't worth fight now. So I'll hit you a few more times then let you go." She pistol-whipped her with nothing but her hand. Buffy's vision blurred. One final blow across the face put Buffy back on the ground.

"Soon, Slayer…soon." The vamp took off and Buffy blacked out.

When she came to Buffy was still in the cemetery. She sat up and pain rushed down her spine. It felt like her body was going numb but she brushed it off and continued getting up.

The walk home seemed like it took forever. She was pushing her body to the max her breathing was heavy and she still couldn't see straight. When she reached the elevator she hit the button and it opened, she pushed eight and sank to the floor. It was a challenge to stay awake.

The elevator opened and she crawled out. She was two doors away from her apartment. She slapped the door twice before she couldn't continue.

Dawn heard the noise and opened the door to see who it was, when she looked down she saw her beaten sister laying still.

"Buffy!" She cried kneeling down next to her to pull her in. "Spike, help!" She called when no one answered she screamed again. "Spike, hurry!" this time Spike's bedroom down flew open and he came running next to Dawn.

"What happened?" He asked as he picked her up

"I don't know."

"Lets get her on the couch."

Dawn sprung ahead of Spike and pulled everything off the couch leaving only a pillow.

Spike laid her down, and opened her eyes they weren't there.

"Buffy, Buffy can you hear me?"

"Dawn, call Giles and the others…quick."

Dawn left the room and began making the routine calls while Spike sat with Buffy.

"Buffy?" He asked again

This time her eyes opened and she spoke softly. "Spike, watch out…she's stronger…the…n she…s…seems…" She then slipped out of it.

Buffy woke to the sounds of her friends. Her eyes were clearing up and the throbbing was subsiding. Everyone was in the kitchen sitting at the table. She sat up and looked over the couch at them. Xander was the first to see her.

"Hey Buff." He said and everyone else looked over. In a big rush they all got up and crowed her.

"How are you feeling?" Giles asked.

"Better, but that's the least of are problems."

Buffy filled them in on what happened at the graveyard and they were all shocked.

"I don't know who she is but she was impressively strong." Buffy said.

Spike was getting the feeling of familiarity from the description of her. He hesitated to say anything, but then he looked at Buffy her face a mess he couldn't begin to believe the damage underneath.

"Anna Court…its Anna Court." Spike spoke up among the crowd.

"Anna Court, are you sure?" Giles questioned.

"Positive."

"Who's Anna Court?" Willow asked.

"One of the most notorious vampires of all time. No one knows anything about her Sire except that it was her lover when she was a human; she's driven by rage and vengeance. In her existences she has killed six Slayers. The last one was in Chicago 1991."

"I know who her Sire is." Spike informed them.

"You do, who is it?" Giles wondered.

"It's me."


	4. Broken Hearts & Shattered Dreams

"You are Anna Court's Sire?" Giles wanted to confirm.

"Yeah, it was about a year after I was turned."

Tears welled up in Buffy's eyes but she remained strong.

"Do you even realize what you've done?" Giles asked firmly.

"Hey, don't go all watcher on me, I'm not the bloody Slayer!" Spike answered defensively.

"You are responsible for the creation of the Slayer's worst enemy!" He snapped.

"I'm not responsible, I'm not even that person anymore!" Spike stood up and was in Giles face.

"It was still you!" He shouted back.

"Enough!" Buffy said finally unable to take anymore. "This isn't getting us any where! We need more information on Anna."

"Yes, we do." Giles responded calmer. "Willow, Xander, Dawn, hit the books dating back to 1889. Buffy you're going to need to be prepared for this, Anna isn't just any vampire."

"She'll make me and Angel look like fuzzy teddy bears." Spike added.

"Oh, I'll be ready." She stated getting up from the couch and started to walk toward the hall. Everyone just watched her.

Spike knew he hit a nerve; one he didn't want to hit. He had hurt her. "Buffy, wait!" He shouted chasing after her.

She was just to her door when she stopped. "What?" She asked not even turning around.

"Buffy, I didn't…I didn't know she was still around. I would have said something."

"Spike, you created a monster, a monster who's killed six Slayers, and almost added me to the list. I have nothing to say to you." She opened her bedroom door then slammed it in his face.

_When Anna came to she was tied to a chair, across from her was her mother, father gagged, and small son Will playing with his toys on the floor._

"_Wakie, wakie love. It's time to play, I thought you were gonna be out all night which would pose a problem._

"_William, why are you doing this?" She asked looking at the man she once loved._

"_Why? Well that's a good question. I guess I'm doing it because…I can." He smiled._

"_What are you going to do when Fortė gets home?"_

"_He already is." Spike looked over at the lifeless body of Anna's husband._

_When Anna saw Fortė, pale, with his eyes wide from terror she screamed why tears now dripped down her face._

"_You see love, I told you that we weren't done. Now we can be forever."_

"_William, what did you do?" She cried._

"_Why are you crying, this is what you wanted, what _we _wanted isn't it?"_

"_No, William, it wasn't. You're a monster, I wanted a man!" She was gathering every brave piece of her to stand up to him._

"_You think I'm a monster now? Wait until I get through with you." She had struck him…and hard. He went over to the one year old sitting on the floor, he picked up the small child and held him lovingly in his arms. "You name him Will, yet you say you don't love me. You harlot, you ran off and I never heard from you again."_

"_William, please don't hurt him…please."_

"_Why should I? You hurt me, now your whole family will feel my pain." Spike morphed and bit into the small human_

"_NO, WILLIAM, STOP PLEASE STOP PLEASE!" She sobbed at the sight of her son._

_He didn't cry for long before he looked like his father. _

_When Spike finished he laid him down on the couch._

"_NO, NO!" She sobbed. "You'll die for this!" She shouted._

"_Oh, no, love, you will." He informed her. "You had ever chance to leave and you didn't! You stepped on my heart and let it get swept away!" He yelled._

"_This isn't all my fault…you didn't want to leave your mother and we didn't want to kill my husband." She said between sobs._

"_William, please let us go."_

"_No, your family torn us apart, know they'll watch you suffer the way I've suffered." He stormed up to her and ripped her dress exposing her soft small legs. Spike took one look and bit into her thigh._

_She let out a cry but only one. When she saw Spike's face, dripping with blood all she saw was the devil. She had to remind herself that he wasn't the man she loved so long ago. She started to feel light headed, when she felt him let go._

"_William, please." She whispered._

"_The names Spike, and no."_

_Spike went into the kitchen and brought out several objects, three carving knives, and a teakettle_

_Anna was hardly aware of what was happening._

_The teakettle was filled with water and Spike put it over the flame._

"_Now, we will see just how loud you can scream." Spike used the carving knife and tore through Anna's calf. On the point of the knife were sections of muscle and a nerve._

_Tears poured out of Anna's red eyes. She was in too much shock that she could barely scream. She wanted to die right then and there just to stop the pain._

"_You feel that pain? That doesn't even compare to the pain you caused me." Spike said in her ear. "But it's a good start." He used the other knife and slashed her face…it was deep._

_When he was done carving a heart into her upper chest he ripped the dress leaving just her corset. He moved to her back and used the knife to draw lines all over her. Out of the corner of his eye she had a large open sore on her left shoulder. Spike knew what it was._

"_When did you get leprosy?" He asked._

_Anna brought herself to answer, why she didn't know. "It showed up about four months ago." She was in such shook as to what just happened she couldn't even cry anymore. "The doctor said it wouldn't be too long before it consumed my arm, then it would get infected and I would more then likely die." She turned to look him in the face. "I'm so sorry."_

"_Not yet." Spike said grabbing the hot kettle with his bare hands and pouring the boiling water onto her legs and stomach, which turned bright red instantly._

_Anna let out a deafening cry._

"_You were supposed to love me!" He yelled as he backhanded her across the face._

_Blisters popped up all over her exposed legs._

"_William…" She whispered._

_Spike leaned closer to her face and when he was close enough Anna spit blood in his face. "I could never love someone like you, I'd rather die." She said firmly._

"_That can be arranged." Spike said, getting bored with torturing her and bit into her neck. When her pulse weakened he slit his wrist with a nearby knife and held it up to her mouth._

'I could never love someone like you.' He told her. The same thing that Buffy once said to him in an alley, now looking at the two of them, he wondered if Anna would have done the same or just left. Of course he would never know. At the time he didn't know what he was creating, he was young and inexperienced with those sorts of thinks. To torture a human being, not a stranger but someone he loved with all his heart, even when he loved Cecily he still loved Anna. Now over 100 years later she was back, he Spike had the feeling that she was angry.


	5. Aftermath

"This is just a disaster. It's just all wrong." A brunette English woman said as she paced in front of Anna. "We agreed that in order to do this it was going to be planned _very_ carefully. You're the brains I'm the vision." She made clear.

Anna sighed with disgust. "Yeah, and I was under the impression you would be more fun. You were with Spike a 100 plus years and he dumps you for a Slayer, doesn't that give you the element of not waiting anymore? Bloody hell you're Drusilla cursed with the Sight. I thought that would be an advantage point for me. All though I do have a bit of a vendetta against you, since you did encourage him to kill me."

"The thought was already there when I poked around, I just unlocked it." Dru added.

"When did you develop reasoning?" Anna asked sitting butchly casual in her overstuffed chair.

"Right about the time you lost yours. Spike spent years with Angelus, he has learned a few things and I don't fancy being a pile of dust like Darla because I wasn't playing it safe." Recalling the incident in Los Angeles several years ago.

"I don't need play-it-safe Drusilla, I need crazy Drusilla. And if you aren't game then I have no use for you." Anna stated getting out of her chair.

"No more planned engagements with out my knowing." Dru requested.

"Deal, just grow a pair will you? Your Sight is no good unless you use it." Anna told her before departed.

"Oh, I will dearie, I'm only getting started." Dru said to herself.

_When she entered the house Drusilla stepped over the body of Anna's husband and saw the bloodshed he had caused in the living room._

"_My dear William, what a mess you've made, you've been a very good boy." She said with a smile on her face. "Their screams are like angels singing in my head_

_Spike was sitting on the floor looking at the dead shell of his beloved. He'd since drained her parents and had been all alone in the house._

"_While I would like to stay and listen to the pretty birds Angelus wants us home and if we don't leave soon we'll never make it."_

"_She didn't lie down." Spike said to no one really._

"_What's that love?" Dru questioned._

"_Nothing." He answered as he got up. "Right lets go then, leave the mess for the police._

_The next day it was all over the papers. 'FIVE FOUND DEAD IN HOME: SEVERE NECK TRAUMA'_

"_Well William, it would seem you've done quite a number. It's not every day you see your victims in the newspapers" Angelus said tossing the paper to the other end of the table._

_Spike picked it up and read the headlines. "Yeah, well it's not everyday you murder someone like the Bublė's" he said setting it back down._

"_Well you were just tying up loose ends. Nothing the matter with that." Angelus reassured him._

"_Anna-" Spike calmed himself down before continuing. "Anna wasn't just a loose end."_

"_Suit your self." Angelus said before leaving the dinning room._

_Upset with Angelus and with himself Spike grabbed a plate off the table and threw it against the wall as he yelled._

"_Poor little Spike," Drusilla said as she entered the room. "All those emotions running through your head." She added with her eyes closed and swinging her head side to side._

"_She didn't lie down." He said to himself again. What was most bothering Spike was that he'd killed dozens, hundreds of people since he became a vampire, none of then stuck with him the way Anna did. He wondered if he made a mistake. If he should have just let her go, never saw her again. He'd never know._

Sitting in his dark room Spike let out a deep sigh as he listened to _Heroine_ by _Something Corporate_. He couldn't believe Anna was able to do all that damage to Buffy. He hadn't seen her look that bad since she went up against the Über Vamp back in Sunnydale…and it was his fault, Giles was right he'd created a monster out of the sweet young women he use to know. He never saw Anna after he turned her, he only her about her from other vamps, demons, and newspapers. He never thought she would come after his…or Buffy. He wasn't going to let Buffy get hurt again. He was going to end it once and for all…just as soon as the sunset.


End file.
